More Aboriginal people live in Canada's cities than on reserves or remote parts of the country. Several generations have grown in relative silence until recent years when the Aboriginal community and governments began in earnest to focus on their Urban Aboriginal issues and needs. This forum is here for you to provide useful and creative information to help address those needs. Let's share what works, not just what's wrong.

Descent housing is "a basic human right," said Libby Davies, Member of Parliament for Vancouver East commenting on the terrible killer fire that happened on Pandora Street.

She told Turtle Island Native Network that she is very familiar with the ongoing tragedy of below standard, slum housing in Vancouver, and she told us efforts are underway to specifically deal with the deplorable living conditions of urban Aboriginal people. She is working with the National Aboriginal Housing Association (NAHA) on federal legislation that calls for a national housing strategy. "It's outrageous in a country as wealthy as Canada that there are people destitute and homeless," said Ms. Davies.

December 24, 2010

Turtle Island Native Network reports on a tragedy in British Columbia that has raised serious concerns - again - about urban Aboriginal housing . . .

Yes, it's true that according to fire authorities - this fire was not specifically related to the messed up condition of the rooming house - HOWEVER, I am raising the concerns because here we have yet another situation where our people are living in squalor. Millions of dollars a year are poured into First Nations organizations, societies that are to deal with Aboriginal housing needs, but of course the demand greatly outweighs the available housing that is fit for any normal humans to habitat. The bottom line is that our people should not have been living in this 'condemned' rooming house.(Tehaliwaskenhas, publisher Turtle Island Native Network.)

"The City was in the process of pursuing further legal action against the landlord (injunction to have the building vacated and revoking the business license) when the fire occurred."

December 23, 2010

There was a killer fire in a rooming house in Vancouver. BC, a place where most rooms were rented to First Nations occupants and a place that has been the target of a formal investigation.

In fact, as you will see in the following news release, it was about to be closed.

The City of Vancouver has acknowledged their investigators were probing the rooming house for infractions. However, it claims the fatalities are not related to rooming house violations. Here is the city's news release - Further Information on Fire at 2862 Pandora Street - Last night the City experienced an unfortunate and deadly fire at a house on Pandora Street in which three lives were tragically lost and another person was seriously injured. Although the residence involved has been under scrutiny by the City's inspectors, the fire was not caused by any underlying condition but was the result of a tenant running an extension cord and an old set of Christmas lights beside a mattress, which caused the mattress and the plywood floor to catch fire. Over the last few months, the City has been engaged in actions under numerous bylaws including the Building Bylaw related to a number of issues including the property being illegally rented out as a rooming house to multiple tenants while it was only licensed to be rented out as a single family dwelling. This landlord has a long history with the City of failure to comply with inspection orders, and will habitually perform the minimum repairs necessary to avoid prosecution. Typically this has involved situations such as being required by the City to remove multiple cooking facilities and reduce the number of tenants, which the landlord would do, only for inspection, and then reinstate the facilities and bring in more than the allowable renters once again. However, throughout the long history of bylaw issues with this property owner, at no time have City inspectors identified any critical life safety issues during an inspection. When there is no threat to immediate life safety, the City takes a balanced approach when dealing with properties of this nature, walking a line between having people ejected from their homes and giving owners the time to make appropriate repairs. There are only very limited situations in which City Bylaw Inspectors can close a property on short notice; normally, closing a building requires a multi-step process and the owner has a number of opportunities to rectify the situation.

As a result of complaints being received, inspections were performed again in June during which a number of deficiencies were noted, none of which were deemed to be of immediate threat to life safety. The owner was given an order to make repairs and cease using the building as a rooming house on August 26 and given until October 31 to comply.

The home was inspected again on November 5 and only minimal repairs had been made, no permits had been obtained, and the property was still being rented out as a rooming house.

The City was in the process of pursuing further legal action against the landlord (injunction to have the building vacated and revoking the business license) when the fire occurred.